Philippe Coutinho and Lucas Digne saying the same thing about Aston Villa after January transfers

Aston Villa's January arrivals Philippe Coutinho and Lucas Digne are loving life at Bodymoor Heath.

Coutinho and Digne, both former Barcelona players, are at similar stages in their careers and share the same targets of leading Villa's assault on the Premier League's European places, while the carrot of representing their nations at the Qatar 2022 World Cup is also firmly in their sights.

For Coutinho - who arrived directly from the Nou Camp in January - he has settled well at Villa having made a total of four goal contributions in his first six appearances for the club.

He made his debut alongside Digne in the 2-2 draw against Manchester United in January, with his second half substitution key to helping Steven Gerrard's side avoiding defeat and avenging a two-goal deficit in the final stages of the clash at Villa Park.

The Brazil international has shown flashes of quality in claret and blue in the five starts he has made since, and Coutinho admits he is 'very happy' to be at Villa.

"I arrived at this great club, I’m very happy to come here," he said.

"I’m getting to know my teammates better and we want to give more to our fans. We work hard for them."

Coutinho also told ESPN Brazil : "I work hard every day to play well and contribute with good results for the club I play for. And of course, I really wanted to return to the Premier League, I am at a brilliant club that makes me very happy.

"All the players give their best so that we can achieve our goals as a team. I always work to make things work out. What I want most is to be physically well for the team I'm playing for."

Club owners Nassef Sawiris and Wes Edens have ambitions to restore Villa to their place amongst the European elite and have made no secret